Merchandising fixture

ABSTRACT

A merchandising fixture for displaying a stack of articles has a clamp for attaching the fixture to the edge of a shelf and a support arm adapted to have attached thereto one of said articles to form a base for the stack thereof.

United States Patent Stepanek et al.

[451 July 17,1973

MERCHANDISING FIXTURE Inventors: Frank E. Stepanek, La Grange Park;

Francis G. Winters, Crystal Lake, both of 111.

American Home Products Corporation, New York, N.Y.

Filed: July 3, 1972 Appl. No.: 268,441

Assignee:

US. Cl 248/226 A Int. Cl. A47f 5/00 Field of Search 248/226 A, 226 B,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1904 Pflugradt et al. 211/126 X 928,313 7/1909 Lovett 248/226 A UX 1,108,692 8/1914 Burd 248/226 A X 3,697,033 10/1972 Jacobs 248/226 A Primary ExaminerWilliam H. Schultz Attorney-Robert D. Teichert and Donald J. Koprowski [57] ABSTRACT A merchandising fixture for displaying a stack of arti cles has a clamp for attaching the fixture to the edge of a shelf and a support arm adapted to have attached thereto one of said articles to form a base for the stack thereof.

2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures MERCHANDISING FIXTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to merchandising fxtures and particularly to a fixture that can easily be clamped to a shelf to display a stack of articles.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide a fixture that will enable a stack of articles to be displayed in strategic locations in stores such as supermarkets without taking up any additional shelf space. For example, a stack of bake pans may be displayed for sale adjacent to the shelves where bake mixes which would be used in the pan would be sold.

The invention is an improvement over that described in application Ser. No. 107,981 filed Jan. 20, 1971.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above mentioned object is attained by providing a fixture having a clamp structure which is adapted to be attached to the edge of a shelf and a support arm adapted to have attached thereto one of the articles to form a base for the stack thereof.

The support arm has a portion tilted at an angle from the horizontal so that consumers will have a better view of the product. The tilted portion has tongues which cooperate with slots in the article to provide for easy interchangeability of the display for different articles.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the fixture of our invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the fixture showing a cut-out section of pan in relationship to the support arm.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to the drawings, the merchandising fixture is comprised generally of a clamp structure 12 and support arm 14. The clamp structure 12 is generally C- shaped in side elevation. The C-shape is defined by an upright member 16, and upper and lower jaws l8 and respectively. The jaws l8 and 20 extend in the same direction from upright member 16. One of the jaws, preferably lower jaw 20, has a threaded bore 22 adapted to receive a threaded bolt 24. The bolt 24 preferably includes a contact plate 26 and means 28 for manually turning the bolt 26. Thus, by turning the bolt 24, the edge of a shelf 30 or the like may be wedged between the upper jaw 18 and contact plate 28.

Support arm 14 is comprised ofa lower horizontal leg 32 and an upper leg 34 which extends upwardly at an angle to the point where the upright member 16 and upper jaw 18 of the clamp structure meet. At this point it extends parallel to and adjacent to the upper jaw 18. The clamp structure 14 is secured to the support arm by any suitable means, such as welding.

A pair of U-shaped apertures 36 are provided in the upper leg 34 of support arm 14, the points of the U" facing downwardly on the angled leg 34. A tongue 38 is formed between the two legs of the U, to serve a purpose hereinafter described.

To provide for easy changeability of the display for different articles, the lowermost article of the stack is provided with means for cooperating with the tongues 38 to secure the article to the upper leg 34 of the support arm 14. The drawings show a metal bake pan 40 having a pair of slots 42 formed by depressing a portion of the bottom wall of the pan 40 downwardly. A tab 44 is also thus formed. The slots 42 are spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the distance the tongues 38 are spaced apart and both slots open in the same direction.

The pan 40 is quickly and easily secured to the upper leg 34 of the support arm 14. It is first placed in position on the leg 34 with the tab 44 aligned with the tongues 38 on the leg 34. At this point the tabs 44 will extend through the U-shaped apertures 36 and the slots 42 will thus be in a position ready to receive the tongues 38 of the support arm. The pan 40 is then merely slid downwardly until the tabs 44 slide completely into the slots 42.

To disengage the pan from the support the procedure is reversed.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

We claim:

1. A merchandising fixture adapted to be fastened to the edge of a shelf or the like to display a stack of articles said fixture comprising a generally C-shaped clamp structure, the C-shape being defined by an upright member and upper and lower jaws extending in the same direction from each end of said upright member, one of said jaws having a threaded bore, a bolt dimensioned to be received by said threaded bore, said bolt cooperating with the other jaw to firmly engage said shelf, and a support arm extending from said upright member in the opposite direction from that of said jaws, said support arm having a horizontal lower leg and an inclined upper leg, said inclined upper leg having a pair of spaced apart U-shaped aperture therein, a tongue being formed between the legs of the U, the bottom article of said stack of articles having a pair of depressed tabs forming a pair of slots spaced apart a distance equal to that between said tongues of said upper leg so that said tongues engage said slots to se cure said article to said support.

2. The merchandising fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said article attached to said support arm is a metallic bake pan. 

1. A merchandising fixture adapted to be fastened to the edge of a shelf or the like to display a stack of articles said fixture comprising a generally C-shaped clamp structure, the C-shape being defined by an upright member and upper and lower jaws extending in the same direction from each end of said upright member, one of said jaws having a threaded bore, a bolt dimensioned to be received by said threaded bore, said bolt cooperating with the other jaw to firmly engage said shelf, and a support arm extending from said upright member in the opposite direction from that of said jaws, said support arm having a horizontal lower leg and an inclined upper leg, said inclined upper leg having a pair of spaced apart U-shaped aperture therein, a tongue being formed between the legs of the U, the bottom article of said stack of articles having a pair of depressed tabs forming a pair of slots spaced apart a distance equal to that between said tongues of said upper leg so that said tongues engage said slots to secure said article to said support.
 2. The merchandising fixture as defined in claim 1 wherein said article attached to said support arm is a metallic bake pan. 